Systems and Methods for Time-Based Athletic Activity Measurement and Display

ABSTRACT

An athletic parameter measurement device worn by an athlete during an athletic activity session includes a housing which attaches to the athlete, a display, a processor associated with the display, and an athletic parameter measurement sensor. During the athletic activity, the device detects, using the sensor, a vertical jump height of the athlete, and displays, during the performance of the athletic activity session, a representation of the vertical jump height on the display.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 18/148,170 filed Dec. 29, 2022, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 17/737,455 filed May 2022, now U.S. Pat. No.11,568,977, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/853,937, filed Apr. 21, 2020, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,600,371, which isa continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/376,123, filedApr. 5, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,632,343, which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/994,517, filed May 31, 2018, nowU.S. Pat. No. 10,293,209, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/693,753, filed Sep. 1, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No.10,010,752, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/223,188, filed Jul. 29, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,757,619, which is adivisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/722,695, filed May 27,2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,429,411, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/478,203, filed Sep. 5, 2014, now U.S.Pat. No. 9,389,057, which is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/293,653, filed Nov. 10, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,831,407,which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/412,285,filed Nov. 10, 2010, the contents of which are incorporated herein intheir entirety for any and all non-limiting purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates generally to recordation and visualization ofathletic activity. In particular, aspects described herein relate totime-based recordation and review of athletic activity and time-specificmetrics associated therewith.

BACKGROUND

Exercise and fitness have become increasingly popular and the benefitsfrom such activities are well known. Various types of technology havebeen incorporated into fitness and other athletic activities. Forexample, a wide variety of portable electronic devices are available foruse in fitness activity such as MP3 or other audio players, radios,portable televisions, DVD players, or other video playing devices,watches, GPS systems, pedometers, mobile telephones, pagers, beepers,etc. Many fitness enthusiasts or athletes use one or more of thesedevices when exercising or training to keep them entertained, provideperformance data or to keep them in contact with others, etc. Such usershave also demonstrated an interest in recording their athleticactivities and metrics associated therewith. Accordingly, varioussensors may be used to detect, store and/or transmit athleticperformance information. Oftentimes, however, athletic performanceinformation is presented in a vacuum or based on the overall athleticactivity. Athletic performance data might not be readily available for aparticular period or instance of time during the athletic activitysession. As such, users might not be able to identify specific times ortime periods within their workout or other athletic activity thatcertain metrics or performance statistics were achieved.

A full discussion of the features and advantages of the presentinvention is referred to in the following detailed description, whichproceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

SUMMARY

The following presents a general summary of aspects of the invention inorder to provide a basic understanding of at least some of its aspects.This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is notintended to identify key or critical elements of the invention or todelineate the scope of the invention. The following summary merelypresents some concepts of the invention in a general form as a preludeto the more detailed description provided below.

One or more aspects describe systems and methods for tracking athleticactivity metrics based on a timeline. Metrics may be recordedcontinuously or based on a predefined schedule. In either case, multiplevalues may be recorded for the same metric and associated with theparticular time period or specific time at which the values weredetected. For examples, athletic performance data may be detected andrecorded for every minimum time unit. The minimum time unit maycorrespond to 1 second, 2 seconds, a millisecond, 10 seconds and thelike. Using such time-based recordings, the user may reviewinstantaneous and specific metric values to determine how they wereperforming at particular points during their athletic activityperformance.

According to another aspect, users may display the multiple metricssimultaneously in an interface during review of the athletic activitysession. For example, a user may display a video in a primaryvisualization area with overlays of one or more desired metrics.Additionally or alternatively, a toolbar may be displayed to provideother metrics not currently displayed in the primary visualization area.

According to yet another aspect, the multiple metrics may be recordedusing multiple different applications or widgets. A user may selectwhich metrics and/or widgets to use prior to the athletic activitysession or prior to initiation of recordation. The user may also modifythe selected metrics or applications during session recordation.

According to still another aspect, a user may edit the collected dataprior to or after the metrics and other data are compiled into a singleathletic activity session file of electronic content item (e.g., anenhanced video). For example, the user may remove metrics from beingincluded in the athletic activity session file even if the metrics havealready been recorded. Additionally or alternatively, the user may cropa video or other metrics to a desired period of time (e.g., smaller thanthe overall duration of the athletic activity session).

According to yet another aspect, a plurality of video segments of anathletic activity session of a user may be captured by a plurality ofvideo sources. A processing system may determine that each of theplurality of video segments correspond to the athletic activity sessionof the user, and, accordingly, the processing system may generate avideo replay of the athletic activity session of the user by piecingtogether the plurality of video segments captured by the plurality ofvideo sources. The first portion of the video replay includes a firstvideo segment captured by a first video source of the plurality of videosources, and a second portion of the video replay includes a secondvideo segment captured by a second video source of the plurality of thevideo sources different than the first video source.

According to yet another aspect, an athletic parameter measurementdevice configured to by worn by an athlete during an athletic activitysession detects and displays one or more metrics during the athleticactivity session. For example, the athletic parameter measurement devicemay include a housing with an attachment mechanism configured to beattached to the athlete during the athletic activity session, a display,a processor associated with the display, and at least one athleticparameter measurement sensor. The device may be configured to detect, bythe at least one athletic parameter measurement sensor, at least onemetric of the athlete during the athletic activity session while thehousing is worn by the athlete, wherein the at least one metric of theathlete includes a vertical jump height of the athlete, transmit, by theat least one athletic parameter measurement sensor to the processor, theat least one metric, and display, by the processor on the display,during performance of the athletic activity session, a representation ofthe at least one metric.

Other aspects and features are described throughout the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To understand the present invention, it will now be described by way ofexample, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example computing environment in which one or moreaspects described herein may be used;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example computing device that may be usedaccording to one or more aspects described herein;

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate example sensor and monitoring devicecommunication environments according to one or more aspects describedherein;

FIG. 3C illustrates an example shoe sensor system having force sensingcapabilities according to one or more aspects described herein.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating the features of a time-basedathletic performance monitoring system according to one or more aspectsdescribed herein;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example metric/application selection interfaceaccording to one or more aspects described herein;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example activity selection interface according toone or more aspects described herein;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example recording initiation interface accordingto one or more aspects described herein;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example interface displaying a user's recordedactivity path and additional metrics according to one or more aspectsdescribed herein;

FIG. 9 illustrates another example activity selection interfaceaccording to one or more aspects described herein;

FIG. 10 illustrates an example interface displaying video of a user'srecorded activity, a timeline and other metrics in a metric toolbaraccording to one or more aspects described herein;

FIG. 11 illustrates another example interface displaying user activitymetrics according to one or more aspects described herein;

FIG. 12 illustrates an example landscape display of a user's activitymetrics with overlaid metric information according to one or moreaspects described herein;

FIG. 13 illustrates an example interface in which a user may crop arecorded activity session according to one or more aspects describedherein;

FIG. 14 illustrates an example interface through which a recordedactivity session may be shared according to one or more aspectsdescribed herein;

FIG. 15 illustrates an example community website through which recordedactivity metrics may be shared according to one or more aspectsdescribed herein;

FIGS. 16A and 16B illustrate example display overlays for conveyingactivity metrics according to one or more aspects described herein;

FIGS. 17A-17D illustrate example interfaces configured to display acomparison between two activity sessions and/or athletes according toone or more aspects described herein;

FIGS. 18A and 18B illustrate example interfaces that may be adjustedusing an intersection point between display regions according to one ormore aspects described herein;

FIG. 19 illustrates the editing of metric data upon compiling anactivity session file according to one or more aspects described herein;and

FIGS. 20 and 21 illustrate example environments in which multiple videoor data capture sources may be used according to one or more aspectsdescribed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description of various example embodiments of theinvention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form apart hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration variousexample devices, systems, and environments in which aspects of theinvention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other specificarrangements of parts, example devices, systems, and environments may beutilized and structural and functional modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. Also, while the terms“top,” “bottom,” “front,” “back,” “side,” and the like may be used inthis specification to describe various example features and elements ofthe invention, these terms are used herein as a matter of convenience,e.g., based on the example orientations shown in the figures. Nothing inthis specification should be construed as requiring a specific threedimensional orientation of structures in order to fall within the scopeof this invention.

Various examples of the invention may be implemented using electroniccircuitry configured to perform one or more functions. For example, withsome embodiments of the invention, the athletic information monitoringdevice, the collection device, the display device or any combinationthereof may be implemented using one or more application-specificintegrated circuits (ASICs). More typically, however, components ofvarious examples of the invention will be implemented using aprogrammable computing device executing firmware or softwareinstructions, or by some combination of purpose-specific electroniccircuitry and firmware or software instructions executing on aprogrammable computing device.

Example Hardware Devices

FIG. 1 shows one illustrative example of a computer 101 that can be usedto implement various embodiments of the invention. As seen in thisfigure, the computer 101 has a computing unit 103. The computing unit103 typically includes a processing unit 105 and a system memory 107.The processing unit 105 may be any type of processing device forexecuting software instructions, but will conventionally be amicroprocessor device. The system memory 107 may include both aread-only memory (ROM) 109 and a random access memory (RAM) 111. As willbe appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, both the read-onlymemory (ROM) 109 and the random access memory (RAM) 111 may storesoftware instructions for execution by the processing unit 105.

The processing unit 105 and the system memory 107 are connected, eitherdirectly or indirectly, through a bus 113 or alternate communicationstructure to one or more peripheral devices. For example, the processingunit 105 or the system memory 107 may be directly or indirectlyconnected to additional memory storage, such as the hard disk drive 115,the removable magnetic disk drive 117, the optical disk drive 119, andthe flash memory card 121. The processing unit 105 and the system memory107 also may be directly or indirectly connected to one or more inputdevices 123 and one or more output devices 125. The input devices 123may include, for example, a keyboard, touch screen, a remote controlpad, a pointing device (such as a mouse, touchpad, stylus, trackball, orjoystick), a scanner, a camera or a microphone. The output devices 125may include, for example, a monitor display, television, printer,stereo, or speakers.

Still further, the computing unit 103 will be directly or indirectlyconnected to one or more network interfaces 127 for communicating with anetwork. This type of network interface 127, also sometimes referred toas a network adapter or network interface card (NIC), translates dataand control signals from the computing unit 103 into network messagesaccording to one or more communication protocols, such as theTransmission Control Protocol (TCP), the Internet Protocol (IP), and theUser Datagram Protocol (UDP). These protocols are well known in the art,and thus will not be discussed here in more detail. An interface 127 mayemploy any suitable connection agent for connecting to a network,including, for example, a wireless transceiver, a power line adapter, amodem, or an Ethernet connection.

It should be appreciated that, in addition to the input, output andstorage peripheral devices specifically listed above, the computingdevice may be connected to a variety of other peripheral devices,including some that may perform input, output and storage functions, orsome combination thereof. For example, the computer 101 may be connectedto a digital music player, such as an IPOD® brand digital music playeravailable from Apple, Inc. of Cupertino, California. As known in theart, this type of digital music player can server as both an outputdevice for a computer (e.g., outputting music from a sound file orpictures from an image file) and a storage device. In addition, thistype of digital music play also can serve as an input device forinputting recorded athletic information, as will be discussed in moredetail below.

In addition to a digital music player, the computer 101 may be connectedto or otherwise include one or more other peripheral devices, such as atelephone. The telephone may be, for example, a wireless “smart phone.”As known in the art, this type of telephone communicates through awireless network using radio frequency transmissions. In addition tosimple communication functionality, a “smart phone” may also provide auser with one or more data management functions, such as sending,receiving and viewing electronic messages (e.g., electronic mailmessages, SMS text messages, etc.), recording or playing back soundfiles, recording or playing back image files (e.g., still picture ormoving video image files), viewing and editing files with text (e.g.,Microsoft Word or Excel files, or Adobe Acrobat files), etc. Because ofthe data management capability of this type of telephone, a user mayconnect the telephone with the computer 101 so that their datamaintained may be synchronized.

Of course, still other peripheral devices may be included with ourotherwise connected to a computer 101 of the type illustrated in FIG. 1, as is well known in the art. In some cases, a peripheral device may bepermanently or semi-permanently connected to the computing unit 103. Forexample, with many computers, the computing unit 103, the hard diskdrive 117, the removable optical disk drive 119 and a display aresemi-permanently encased in a single housing. Still other peripheraldevices may be removably connected to the computer 101, however. Thecomputer 101 may include, for example, one or more communication portsthrough which a peripheral device can be connected to the computing unit103 (either directly or indirectly through the bus 113). Thesecommunication ports may thus include a parallel bus port or a serial busport, such as a serial bus port using the Universal Serial Bus (USB)standard or the IEEE 1394 High Speed Serial Bus standard (e.g., aFirewire port). Alternately or additionally, the computer 101 mayinclude a wireless data “port,” such as a Bluetooth interface, a Wi-Fiinterface, an infrared data port, or the like.

It should be appreciated that a computing device employed accordingvarious examples of the invention may include more components than thecomputer 101 illustrated in FIG. 1 , fewer components than the computer101, or a different combination of components than the computer 101.Some implementations of the invention, for example, may employ one ormore computing devices that are intended to have a very specificfunctionality, such as a digital music player or server computer. Thesecomputing devices may thus omit unnecessary peripherals, such as thenetwork interface 115, removable optical disk drive 119, printers,scanners, external hard drives, etc. Some implementations of theinvention may alternately or additionally employ computing devices thatare intended to be capable of a wide variety of functions, such as adesktop or laptop personal computer. These computing devices may haveany combination of peripheral devices or additional components asdesired.

FIG. 2 illustrates one example of an athletic information monitoringdevice 201 that may be employed according to various examples of theinvention to measure athletic information corresponding a user'sathletic activity. As shown in this figure, the athletic informationmonitoring device 201 includes a digital music player 203, an electronicinterface device 205, and an athletic parameter measurement device 207.As will be described in more detail, in one embodiment, the digitalmusic player 203 may be (releasably) connected to the electronicinterface device 205, and the combination is worn or otherwise carriedby the user while he or she is performing an athletic activity, such asrunning or walking. The athletic parameter measurement device 207 alsois worn or carried by the user while he or she is performing an athleticactivity, and measures one or more athletic parameters relating to theathletic performance being performed by the user. The athletic parametermeasurement device 207 transmits signals to the electronic interfacedevice 205 that correspond to the measured athletic parameter. Theelectronic interface device 205 receives the signals from the athleticparameter measurement device 207, and provides the received informationto the digital music player 203. In some arrangements, electronicinterface device 205 might not be used if digital music player 203 orother electronic device is capable of interfacing with measurementdevice 207 directly. For example, the athletic parameter measurementdevice 207 may be configured to communicate using the Bluetooth wirelesscommunication protocol, so that it can be employed withBluetooth-capable mobile telephones, personal digital assistants,watches or personal computers.

As shown in more detail in FIG. 3A, the athletic parameter measurementdevice 207 includes one or more sensors 301 for measuring an athleticparameter associated with a person wearing or otherwise using theathletic parameter measurement device 207. With the illustratedimplementations, for example, the sensors 301A and 301B may beaccelerometers (such as piezoelectric accelerometers) for measuring theacceleration of the athletic parameter measurement device 207 in twoorthogonal directions. The athletic parameter measurement device 207 iscarried or otherwise worn by a user to measure the desired athleticparameter while the user exercises. For example, as shown in FIG. 3B,the athletic parameter measurement device 207 may be located the sole ofa user's shoe 401 while the user walks or runs. With this arrangement,the sensors 301 will produce electrical signals corresponding to themovement of the user's foot. As known in the art, these signals can thenbe used to generate athletic data representative of the athleticactivity performed by the user.

The athletic parameter measurement device 207 also includes a processor303 for processing the electrical signals output by the sensors 301.With some implementations of the invention, the processor 303 may be aprogrammable microprocessor. For still other implementations of theinvention, however, the processor 303 may be a purpose-specific circuitdevice, such as an ASIC. The processor 303 may perform any desiredoperation on the signals output from the sensors 301, such as curvesmoothing, noise filtering, outlier removal, amplification, summation,integration, or the like. The processor 303 provides the processedsignals to a transmitter 307. The athletic parameter measurement device207 also includes a power supply 307, for providing power to the sensors301, the processor 303, and the transmitter 305 as needed. The powersupply 307 may be, for example, a battery.

The athletic parameter measurement device 207 transmits the processedsignals to the electronic interface device 205, as seen in FIG. 3B.Returning now to FIG. 3A, the electronic interface device 205 includes areceiver 309 which receives the processed signals transmitted by thetransmitter 305 in the athletic parameter measurement device 207. Thereceiver 309 relays the processed signals to a second processor 311,which processes the signals further. Like the processor 303, theprocessor 311 may perform any desired operation on the processedsignals, such as curve smoothing, noise filtering, outlier removal,amplification, summation, integration, or the like.

The processor 303 provides the processed signals to the digital musicplayer 203. Referring back now to FIG. 2 , the electronic interfacedevice 205 includes a connector system 209 that physically plugs intoand connects with a conventional input port 211 provided on digitalmusic player 203. The input port 211 into which the connector system 209of the electronic interface device 205 connects may be any desired typeof input port for transferring data, such as a parallel data port, aserial data port, an earphone or microphone jack, etc.) The connectorsystem 209 may include any suitable connecting devices, such as wires,pins, electrical connectors, and the like, so as to make an electricalconnection or other suitable connection with corresponding elementsprovided in the input port 211 of the digital music player 203 (e.g., toallow electronic and/or data communications between the interface device205 and the electronic interface device 205). If necessary or desired,additional securing elements may be provided to securely connect theinterface device 205 to the digital music player 203, such as straps,hooks, buckles, clips, clamps, clasps, retaining elements, mechanicalconnectors, and the like.

Returning now to FIG. 3A, the processor 311 provides the processedsignals to the computing unit 313. The computing unit 313 may initiallystore the processed signals in the memory 315. Further, with someimplementations of the invention, the computing unit 313 may operate onthe processed signals provided by the athletic information monitoringdevice 201 to generate a set of athletic data corresponding to theathletic activity performed by the user. For example, if the athleticinformation monitoring device 201 includes accelerometers for measuringthe movement of the user's foot, the computing unit 313 may analyze theprocessed signals from the athletic information monitoring device 201 togenerate a set of athletic data describing the user's speed at specificinstances during the user's athletic activity and the total distancetraveled by the user at each of those specific instances. Varioustechniques for determining a user's speed from accelerometer signals aredescribed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,898,550 to Blackadar et al.,entitled “Monitoring Activity Of A User In Locomotion On Foot,” andissued on May 24, 2005, U.S. Pat. No. 6,882,955 to Ohlenbusch et al.,entitled “Monitoring Activity Of A User In Locomotion On Foot,” andissued on Apr. 19, 2005, U.S. Pat. No. 6,876,947 to Darley et al.,entitled “Monitoring Activity Of A User In Locomotion On Foot,” andissued on Apr. 5, 2005, U.S. Pat. No. 6,493,652 to Ohlenbusch et al.,entitled “Monitoring Activity Of A User In Locomotion On Foot,” andissued on Dec. 10, 2002, U.S. Pat. No. 6,298,314 to Blackadar et al.,entitled “Detecting The Starting And Stopping Of Movement Of A Person OnFoot,” and issued on Oct. 2, 2001, U.S. Pat. No. 6,052,654 to Gaudet etal., entitled “Measuring Foot Contact Time And Foot Loft Time Of APerson In Locomotion,” and issued on Apr. 18, 2000, U.S. Pat. No.6,018,705 to Gaudet et al., entitled “Measuring Foot Contact Time AndFoot Loft Time Of A Person In Locomotion,” and issued on Jan. 25, 2000,each of which are incorporated entirely herein by reference.

The athletic data set may also include a time value associated with eachspeed value and/or each distance value. If the athletic informationmonitoring device 201 can be employed to collect athletic informationfrom different users, then the athletic data computing unit 313 mayadditionally prompt the user to identify himself or herself in some way.This identification information may then be included with the athleticdata set generated from the information provided by the athleticinformation monitoring device 201. Once the computing unit 313 hasgenerated a set of athletic data from the information provided by theathletic information monitoring device 201, the computing unit 313 maystore the athletic data set in the memory 315. As will be discussed inmore detail below, when the digital music player 203 subsequently isconnected to a computing device implementing an athletic informationcollection tool, the computing unit 313 will download the athletic datato a display configuration tool hosted on a remote computing device.

While wireless communication between the between the athletic parametermeasurement device 207 and the interface device 205 is described for theembodiments illustrated in FIGS. 2-3B, any desired manner ofcommunicating between the athletic parameter measurement device 207 andthe interface device 205 may be used without departing from theinvention, including wired connections. Also, any desired way of placingdata derived from the physical or physiological data from the athleticparameter measurement device 207 in the proper form or format fordisplay on or output from electronic device 210 may be provided withoutdeparting from the invention.

If desired, in accordance with at least some examples of this invention,the electronic interface device 205 may further include a display 220and/or a user input system 222, such as one or more rotary inputdevices, switches, buttons (as shown in the illustrated example in FIG.2 ), mouse or trackball elements, touch screens, or the like, or somecombination thereof. The display 220 may be employed to show, forexample, information relating to music being played by the digital musicplayer 203, information relating to the athletic information signalsbeing received by the digital music player 203, athletic data beinggenerated by the digital music player 203 from the received athleticinformation signals, etc. The user input system 222 may be employed, forexample: to control one or more aspects of the processing of the inputdata received via interface device 205, to control input data receipt(e.g., timing, types of information received, on-demand data requests,etc.), to control data output to or by the electronic device 203, tocontrol the athletic parameter measurement device 207, etc.Alternatively or additionally, if desired, the input system on thedigital music player 203 (e.g., buttons 222, a touch screen, adigitizer/stylus based input, a rotary input device, a trackball orroller ball, a mouse, etc.), may be used to provide user input data tothe interface device 205 and/or to the athletic parameter measurementdevice 207. As still another example, if desired, a voice input systemmay be provided with the interface device 205 and/or the digital musicplayer 203, e.g., to enable user input via voice commands. Any otherdesired type of user input system, for control of any system elementsand/or for any purpose, may be provided without departing from theinvention.

The digital music player 203 may include additional input and/or outputelements, e.g., such as ports 224 and 226 shown in FIG. 2 , e.g., forheadphones (or other audio output), power supplies, wirelesscommunications, infrared input, microphone input, or other devices. Ifdesired, and if these ports 224 and/or 226 would be covered when theinterface device 205 is attached to the electronic device 203, theinterface device 205 may be equipped with similar external ports toports 224 and/or 226, and internal circuitry may be provided in theinterface device 205 to enable the user to plug the same additionaldevices into the interface device 205 as they might plug into thedigital music player 203 and still take advantage of the same functions(e.g., to thereby allow the necessary data, signals, power, and/orinformation to pass through the interface device 205 to the user, toanother output, and/or to the digital music player 203).

It should be appreciated that, while some specific embodiments of theinvention described above relate to a digital music player 203,alternate examples of the invention may be implemented using anyportable electronic device. For example, with some implementations ofthe invention, the athletic parameter measurement device 207 may be usedin conjunction with a mobile telephone, a watch, a personal digitalassistant, anther type of music player (such as a compact disc orsatellite radio music player), a portable computer, or any other desiredelectronic device.

It also should be appreciated that, while a specific example of anathletic parameter measurement device 207 has been described above forease of understanding, any type of desired athletic parametermeasurement device 207 can be employed with various embodiments of theinvention. For example, with some implementations of the invention, theathletic parameter measurement device 207 may be a heart rate monitor, ablood oxygen monitor, a satellite positioning device (e.g., a GlobalPositioning Satellite (GPS) navigation device), a device for measuringthe electrical activity of the user (e.g., an EKG monitor), or any otherdevice that measures one or more physical parameters of the user. Stillfurther, the athletic parameter measurement device 207 may measure oneor more operational parameters of some device being manipulated by theuser, such as the speed and/or distance of a bicycle, the speed and/orwork performed by a treadmill, rowing machine, elliptical machine,stationary bicycle, the speed and/or distance traveled by skis (water orsnow), skates (roller or ice), or snowshoes or the like worn by theuser, etc. Other types of sensors may include strain gages, temperaturesensors, heart-rate monitors and the like. In one or more arrangements,a user may equip multiple sensors and, in some instances, the same typeof sensor in multiple locations. For example, users may wear shoes thatare each equipped with an accelerometer, weight sensor or the like, inorder to allow a system to determine the individual movement and metricsof each foot or other body part (e.g., leg, hand, arm, individualfingers or toes, regions of a person's foot or leg, hips, chest,shoulders, head, eyes). Examples of multi-sensor apparel and the use ofmultiple sensors in athletic activity monitoring are described in U.S.application Ser. No. 12/483,824, entitled “FOOTWEAR HAVING SENSORSYSTEM,” and published as U.S. Publication No. 2010/0063778 A1 and U.S.application Ser. No. 12/483,828, entitled “FOOTWEAR HAVING SENSORSYSTEM,” and published as U.S.

Publication No. 2010/0063779 A1. The content of the above referenceapplications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Ina particular example, an athlete may wear having one or more forcesensing systems, e.g., that utilize force-sensitive resistory (FSR)sensors. The shoe may include multiple FSR sensors that detect forces atdifferent regions of the user's foot (e.g., a heel, mid-sole, toes,etc.). This may help determine balance of a user's foot or between auser's two feet. In one exemplary embodiment, a FSR sensor array maytake the form such as shown in FIG. 3C.

Also, while the athletic parameter measurement device 207 has beendescribed as being separate from the digital music player 203 or otherportable electronic device that receives the signals from the athleticparameter measurement device 207, with some implementations of theinvention the athletic parameter measurement device 207 may beincorporated into or integrated with the digital music player 203 orother portable electronic device. For example, some implementations ofthe invention may employ a music player, mobile telephone, watch orpersonal digital assistant that incorporates accelerometers, a satellitepositioning device, or any other desired device for measuring athleticactivity. Still further, it should be appreciated that variousimplementations of the invention may employ a plurality of athleticparameter measurement devices 207, incorporated into the digital musicplayer 203 or other portable electronic device, separate from thedigital music player 203 or other portable electronic device, or somecombination thereof.

Time-Based Data Collection

Athletic performance monitoring systems such as digital music player 203or interface 205 of FIG. 2 may be used to collect, edit, store and shareathletic performance data as measured by one or more external orinternal sensors. This athletic performance data may be collected over aperiod of time that the user is performing an activity. To provide dataspecificity and flexibility in the use of the data, the monitoringsystem may collect data several times during the course of the athleticactivity. In one example, the monitoring system may collect and storeathletic data at every minimum time unit. For example, the minimum timeunit may correspond to every second that the user is engaged in theathletic activity. In another example, the monitoring system may collectand store athletic data for every 0.5 seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 30seconds, minute or the like. The data collected may then be mapped,associated and/or otherwise stored with the corresponding instant intime or time period in which the data was captured. The minimum timeunit may be defined by the user or the system or may be defined based ona minimum time unit that is used to record video or audio of theactivity session. For example, if a video provides playback granularityat the half second level, the system may record performance data atevery half second. In another example, if a video is recorded at 30frames per second, the system may record performance data (e.g.,metrics) every 1/30^(th) of a second to match each frame of video.

FIG. 4 illustrates a general process by which a user may collect anduser athletic performance data. For example, the user may initiallycapture desired metric data. For example, a user may select or otherwisespecify the type of metric that he or she wishes to record during anathletic activity session. In one example, the user may select metricsby selecting or deselecting individual types of metrics from a userinterface. In another example, the user may select metrics byidentifying a previous recorded set of athletic performance data andindicating that he or she wishes to record the same metrics as theprevious athletic performance data set. Metric data may include video,audio, speeds, paces, reaction times, jump height, locations (e.g.,using a GPS sensor or cellular triangulation), sweat level, bodytemperature, reach distance, weight lifted, strength and the like. Oncecaptured, the user may edit the data, share the data and motivatehimself or herself and/or others (e.g., by attempting to beat the one ormore metrics of a previously recorded activity session).

Many different types of metrics may be measured and recorded inassociation with a time at which the metric was detected. FIG. 5illustrates an example user interface through which a user may selectvarious time-specific metrics to record. Other metrics may still berecorded for an athletic activity even if not selected, however, thoseother metrics might only be recorded as an average over the entireworkout (e.g., rather than storing the metric information at the samelevel of granularity (e.g., 1 second, 2 seconds) as the selectedmetrics). Accordingly, selected metrics may be detected, recorded and/orstored at a first level of granularity (e.g., a first speed—everysecond, every 2 seconds, every 30 seconds, every millisecond, etc.)while non-selected metrics may be detected, recorded and/or stored at asecond level of granularity (e.g., every 2 minutes, every 10 minutes,every 15 minutes), where the first level of granularity is greater thanthe second level of granularity. For some metrics that correspond to aperiod of time (e.g., pace), the metric may be recorded for a specifiedperiod of time (e.g., 2 seconds) and associated with every time unit ofthat period (e.g., a pace of 7.8 mi/hour over 2 seconds is recorded forand associated with each second of those 2 seconds). As such, the othermetrics might not be specific to (or recorded as being specific to) anyparticular time or time period (e.g., a time period smaller than theentire workout/activity duration, a minimum time unit, etc.) during theworkout. Each of the selectable metrics displayed in FIG. 5 maycorrespond to and be recorded by an application or applet (e.g., awidget). In one arrangement, each metric widget or application may beconfigured to measure and record a particular set of one or more metricsalong a timeline. For example, each metric widget or application may bespecific to the corresponding metric that the widget or application isconfigured to record. The timelines for multiple metric widgets orapplications may then be merged to consolidate the metric data into asingle activity session based on their timelines. Generally, thetimelines of the various widgets or applications will match one anothersince the recording is likely to be initiated at the same time.

Metric applications or widgets may be created by athletes or otherusers. In one example, the metric applications may be available througha marketplace or community where users may download new and/or updatedmetric applications. The application may include algorithms,instructions, visual features, functional elements that are specific tothe particular metric and application. Thus, in one or morearrangements, a metric selection interface may include multipledifferent applications or applets for the same type of metric. In oneexample, celebrations, messages, interface functionalities may bedefined by users for various types of metrics. In a particular example,a vertical (e.g., jump height) widget may include a celebration once theuser reaches a 2 foot jump height while a pace widget may include acelebration that is provided once the user achieves a 7 minute milepace.

As illustrated in FIG. 5 , metrics may include recovery time, pace,vertical jump, court map, gait line, run line, heart rate, balance,distance, calories, reaction time, hustle points, pedometer, flighttime, trials, ollie, impact and balance center. For example, recoverytime may be a measure of how long a user is motionless or exhibits alevel of activity or motion below a certain threshold. This time may beconsidered time the user is spending to recover or rest. A court map, onthe other hand, may plot the user's position against an athleticactivity court or field or other predefined space. For example, if auser is playing basketball, a virtual representation of a basketballcourt may be generated and displayed along with a user's movement aroundthe virtual court. In another example, football players may be graphedaround a virtual football field. Reaction time, on the other hand, maymeasure the amount of time between two events such as a ball bouncing ona rim and the user jumping up to grab the ball (e.g., a rebound reactiontime). In another example, a basketball player's reaction time to a passmay be measured between a time at which the ball is released fromanother player's hands and the instant the user makes a move toward theball (e.g., as measured by hip movements or directional movement ofhands or body). Hustle points may be awarded in a variety of mannersincluding based on a speed of an athlete in completing objectives,reaching an object (e.g., a ball), moving a predefined amount ofdistance, moving from one specified point to another and the like. Inone example, hustle points may be awarded for each second a user ismoving at a speed above a threshold speed (e.g., 0.5 points per secondabove 10 mph).

An athletic monitoring system may determine flight time or air time bymeasuring the time between a user's feet leaving a floor and a time atwhich the user's feet touch the ground. Flight time or air time may alsobe measured based on other body parts or devices including skateboards(e.g., skateboard flight time) or between hands and feet (e.g., for aback flip). Flight or airtime for certain activities may have their ownmetric such as number of ollies for skateboarding. The ollie metric mayuse different parameters to measure the airtime of the skateboard trick.In yet another example, air time for the ring exercise in gymnastics maybe measured based on when a user's hands leave the rings and when theuser's hands return to the rings or the user's feet land on the ground.Various other flight time or air times may be defined based on variousbody and device sensors.

Impact may represent an amount of force that a user exerts. In oneexample, a boxing activity may be measured for impact of a user's firstwhen punching. In another example, a user's impact upon landing may bemeasured in basketball. In yet another example, a user's impact uponhitting or tackling another user may be measured to determine aneffectiveness or strength in football. Gait line and run line maymeasure a user's direction or pattern of foot movement during walking orrunning, respectively. In other examples, the pattern or direction ofmovement for other body parts may also be measured and analyzed.According to one or more arrangement, a run line metric may identify apath a user takes during a run. The path may be determined usinglocation determination system such as global positioning satellites andthe like.

Balance and balance center both relate to the amount of weight beingplaced on each foot. In one example, balance may indicate a differencein weight being placed on each foot while balance center may provide anindicator that shows where the user's center of balance exists relativeto the position of his feet.

Additionally or alternatively, the system may provide a trials metricconfigured to measure a user's performance for time. In a trial, theuser is typically racing against the clock, trying to achieve thefastest time possible. Accordingly, the system may measure the user'strials and provide time information associated therewith.

To simplify the use of the performance monitoring system and selectionof metrics, one or more sets of metrics may be predefined. For example,a first set of one or more metrics may be pre-selected and/or definedfor each of running, basketball, training and skateboarding asillustrated in FIG. 6 . Accordingly, upon a user selecting one of theactivity options or types, the corresponding set of metrics mayautomatically be chosen. In some arrangements, the corresponding set ofmetrics may be automatically chosen along with an activity-type specificwidget or application configured to record the selected metrics and theactivity of that type.

The user may be provided with an opportunity to customize the automaticselection after selecting the activity. Alternatively or additionally,the user may also choose to create a custom predefined set or tomanually select the metrics that he or she wishes to use for a currentactivity (e.g., using the Create Your Own option). As noted above, auser may select a previously performed workout and ask to record thesame metrics as the previously performed workout. Accordingly, thesystem may automatically extract the metrics recorded for the previouslyperformed workout from an athletic performance data set associated withthe previously performed workout. If a user customizes his or her ownset of metrics, the user may choose to store and label the customizedset. The customized set may then appear in a menu of predefinedactivities (e.g., as shown in FIG. 6 ) when the user next begins anactivity session. While only basketball, running, training andskateboarding are listed as activities in FIG. 6 , numerous otheractivities may also have predefined metric or widget sets and maysimilarly be displayed in such an interface. In fact, any type of motionmay be tracked according to the features described herein includingdancing, swimming, skipping rope, wrestling, public speaking (e.g., totrack the amount of user hand motion or eye contact), traveling (e.g.,number of steps taken during a trip, elevation change during the trip)and the like.

Furthermore, users may share customized metric or widget sets with otherusers. For example, a marketplace or share space may be created whereusers may exchange, purchase and/or download metric and widget sets fromother users, services, coaches and the like. In one or morearrangements, metric and widgets sets may be shared among users withspecific interests (e.g., skateboarding or swimming) or may be sharedmore generally. Other privacy and security parameters may also bedefined including specifying whether the general public is allowed todownload and view the metric set or if only a specified group (e.g.,friends, community group, etc.) are allowed to view and download. In oneor more aspects, a user may define their own metrics. In one example, auser may define a metric called “one-leg vertical height” for recordinga height that a user is able to jump on one leg or foot. The user maydefine the metric may specifying the types of sensors to use, conditionsfor activating or deactivating the sensor and the sensor output that isto be detected. Accordingly the above user may indicate that the metricis only measured when sensors for one shoe are contacting a surface andthe metric corresponds to half of an amount of time between detectingloss of contact between the one shoe and a surface and detectingsubsequent contact of the same shoe with a surface.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example interface through which a user mayinitiate recording of an activity session upon selecting a set ofdesired metrics to be tracked. The interface may include a timeline onthe bottom of the screen to indicate an amount of elapsed time since astart of the activity. A user may select the start your run/recordoption displayed in the middle of the screen to begin recording metricsand/or video for the activity. In one example, video may be recorded bythe metric recording device (e.g., a video camera on a mobiletelecommunication device or a laptop). As the data is recorded, the data(video and metrics) may be stored in association with the particularinstant or time period during the activity session at which the data wascaptured. As noted previously, data may be collected substantiallycontinuously (e.g., every 0.1 or 0.5 seconds, 1 second). Other recordingintervals may be defined as well (e.g., every 2 seconds, 5 seconds, 10seconds, 15 seconds, 5 minutes). The interface may further display acurrently selected primary metric. The primary metric may be displayed avisualization space of the interface. For example, in FIG. 7 , a runline is displayed in the visualization space (partially covered by therecording option). The user may pause or stop the recording using thecorresponding options displayed in the header bar (e.g., on either sideof the primary metric name).

FIG. 8 illustrates an athletic performance monitoring interface that maybe displayed upon a user beginning an athletic activity session. An iconin the header bar may indicate that the current activity and metricsthereof are being recorded. A primary visualization space may display aparticular metric such as run path or run line in the illustratedexample. In one arrangement, a user's current position on the map may beidentified by an indicator. Other metrics may be displayed in a metricsbar. The metrics may update continuously or based on a specifiedschedule as the activity is being performed. For example, the user'space (e.g., 7:46 miles) may be updated in real-time as a user getsfaster or slows down. Similarly, a user's balance (currently showing 46%weight on the left foot and 54% of the user's weight on the right foot)may similarly be updated in real-time. The data shown may be theinstantaneous data or the data may comprise an average of a previousamount of data (e.g., all previous data recorded for the session or aproper subset of data recorded for the session).

Other metrics may be displayed upon selecting one of the directionalarrow options along the metrics bar (as will be described andillustrated in further detail below). Upon selecting one of the metricsin the metric bar, the primary visualization space may change to displaythe selected metric. The previously displayed metric may be returned tothe metric bar (e.g., replacing the newly selected metric/widget).Furthermore, a current elapsed time may be displayed against thetimeline. Additionally, an amount of elapsed time may be represented inthe timeline by a different color or appearance (e.g., red, polka-dots,stripes, blue, green, etc.).

FIG. 9 illustrates another example activity selection interface having abasketball activity highlighted or in the process of being selected. Asnoted herein, different activities may correspond to different sets ofmetrics. In one example, a basketball metric may include video and/oraudio recording. Accordingly, selection of the basketball activity mayactivate a video recording function.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example metric monitoring interface in whichvideo is recorded for a basketball activity. A basketball activity mayinclude activities related to training for or improving skills relatedto basketball and is not necessarily limited to a basketball game.Similar training or evaluation type activities might also be monitoredfor other sports and activities as well. As the video is being recorded,other metrics as shown in the metrics bar may also be recorded at thesame time and associated with a time at which the data was captured. Themetric or metric widget being displayed in the primary visualizationspace may be modified by selecting a different metric from the metrictoolbar. The video may continue to be recorded and displayed in themetric widget on the metric toolbar. Metrics toolbar may include metricswidgets such as a pace metric widget, a vertical jump widget and animpact widget. The vertical jump widget may measure a user's verticalground clearance at the particular point in time while the impact widgetmay measure the amount of force exerted by a user's feet (e.g., uponlanding) or hands (e.g., for blocking a shot) or an amount of force withwhich a ball was shot or thrown. The pace metric for a basketballactivity may measure acceleration in a vertical or horizontal direction(e.g., instead of measuring mile pace). The metrics shown may bespecific to the instant identified in the timeline, i.e., 4 minutes and58 seconds into the athletic activity session. Alternatively oradditionally, one or more of the metrics shown may be an average of themetrics up to the instant identified in the time line (e.g., an averageover the first 4 minute and 58 seconds).

Data collection may also be facilitated by including identifiers in oneor more sensors or other wearable device (e.g., shoe, gloves, headgear,etc.). A metric capturing device such as a video camera or speed cameramay automatically adjust direction and focus based on finding theappropriate subject using the identifier and determining its location.In other arrangements, identifiers or wearable identifier tags might notbe necessary. A camera or other sensor device may automaticallydetermine the location of a desired subject based on image recognition(e.g., facial recognition or body recognition). Using identifiers, datamay also be displayed as an overlay near or proximate to thecorresponding sensor, person or person's body part. For example, stepinformation may be displayed near a user's foot during video playback bydetecting the position of the user's foot through the identifier. Inanother example, multiple sets of metrics may be displayed for themultiple individuals displayed in a video. Accordingly, the identifiersmay be used to place the metrics close to the appropriate individuals.

Video collection may also be facilitated by combining videos frommultiple different video sources as shown in FIG. 21 . For example,multiple individuals may use their video camera to record the same event(e.g., a soccer game or a dance competition). A processing system maydetect that each of the multiple videos corresponds to the same eventand piece the videos together to fill in gaps between the individualvideos. Additionally, the system may insure that the video maximizesimages of a desired subject. Again, body or facial recognition may beused to identify particular subjects and to assemble portions having thedesired subject or subjects together into a single video. Each portionmay have a duration that corresponds to a sub-time period of theduration or overall time period of the source video or content item. Theuse of multiple cameras or video streams may also allow an individual toview a subject (e.g., himself or herself, a child, a player, etc.) frommultiple angles and, in some instances, in 3-D.

According to another aspect, video recording by location-specificcameras and other recording equipment may be automatically triggeredbased on detection of an identifier or other electronic tag. FIG. 21 ,for instance, illustrates a location such as a gym or park with a camera2 that belongs to or is otherwise associated with the location. As such,if the camera or a system connected thereto detects a player orindividual in the location, the camera may begin automaticallyrecording. In one example, detection of athletes and other individualsmay be based on shoes having an RFID tag. Upon detection of the RFIDtag, a video camera may be automatically triggered to begin recordingthe event or athletic activity session. These cameras may be stationaryor moveable cameras located at a public, semi-private or privateathletic facility (e.g., gym, field, pool, courts, etc.). Thelocation-specific camera data may then be combined with data collectedby a user's personal recording device (e.g., a mobile phone with acamera or handheld video camera) during compilation of an athleticactivity session file. In some arrangements, the data from differentsources may automatically be synchronized upon uploading to a server orother monitoring system.

Data Visualization and Modification

FIG. 11 illustrates an interface displaying a recorded activity sessionand expanded metric toolbar and display of a vertical jump metric in theprimary visualization area. As discussed, by selecting one of thedirectional arrows, the metric toolbar may be scrolled to display othermetric widgets. An arrow might not be displayed if no additional metricwidgets exist in that direction. Scrolling may also be performed usinggestures such as swiping to the left or to the right.

Upon selecting a new metric, such as vertical jump, to view in theprimary visualization area, the previous metric or interface displayedin the primary visualization area may be reduced to widget or toolbarsize and placed in the toolbar. For example, the video that was previousdisplayed in the primary visualization area may be reduced to a smallersize suitable for the metric widget toolbar and displayed therein. Whenenlarged or placed into the primary visualization area, the metricwidget may display additional or more extensive information as comparedto what is displayed in the metric widget toolbar. For example, in theprimary visualization area, the vertical jump metric widget displays acurrent vertical jump value as well as historical vertical jump valuesfor the activity session in a graph. This may allow the user to betterunderstand his or her progress and improvement (if any) during theactivity session. The current value of 49.5 inches (i.e., the valueassociated with the selected or current time in the timeline) may bedisplayed as well. Each of the widget metrics may include animationswhen new metric data is received and as time progresses. For example,with respect to vertical jump, the line may extend slightly to the nextvertical jump value detected once the timeline advances to a subsequentpoint in time. In another example, the line may retract if the userdecides to rewind and go back to a previous point in time. Metricwidgets may display live and animated information in the primaryvisualization area as well as in the metric toolbar.

FIG. 12 illustrates another example interface displaying video of anathletic activity session along with a timeline representing theduration of the session. In this example interface, the video may bedisplayed in landscape format and a metric widget toolbar may be hiddenor otherwise not displayed to conserve space. However, the timeline maystill be displayed to allow a user to jump back and forth in time or tofast forward or rewind as desired. The timeline and/or the metric widgettoolbar may be revealed and/or hidden at will based on user interactionswith the device on which the interface is displayed. For example, a usermay make a first gesture along a touch screen interface to reveal themetric widget toolbar and a second gesture to hide the toolbar. Hidingand displaying of the timeline may be similarly controlled.

According to one aspect, various metrics may be displayed as overlays onthe primary visualization area. That is, the information being displayedin the primary visualization area may still be visible beneath themetric overlays. The user may select the desired metrics to be overlainon the primary visualization area. Overlaid metrics may also be hiddenif desired. The user may also customize the number of metrics that aredisplayed over the primary visualization area as well as theirappearance including color, font, size, representative symbol, unit ofmeasure and the like. In one example, the best or optimum metric may becalled out using highlighting, color, flashing, patterns and the like.In other arrangements, the overlaid information may be displayed withinformation about personal bests to show how far a user is from matchingor exceeding their personal best. Additionally or alternatively,comments, words of encouragement and the like may also be displayed asoverlays, in the toolbar or in an information bar of the interface.

FIGS. 16A and 16B illustrate example metric overlays. In FIG. 16A, forexample, a user's speed is displayed as a semi-transparent odometeroverlaid on top of the user's skateboard activity session video.

In FIG. 16B, the user's impact is displayed as an arrow with anindicator of the impact magnitude over a video of the user jumping.

Overlaid metric information may include videos of other portions of theactivity session or other activity sessions (e.g., of the present useror of other users). In one example, the user may overlay video from anactivity session of a pro athlete to compare performance.

FIG. 17A illustrates an example side by side video comparison between auser and a celebrity athlete or other user. In particular, thecomparison illustrates the difference in air or flight time. The videosmay be cued to a similar point in time such as when a user leaves theground to perform a dunk. This time may be identified based onindicators stored in association with each respective video or based onpre-processed or on-the-fly image analysis. Comparison between two usersmay include synchronizing the timelines of athletic activityperformances of the two users. For example, if two users performed a 20minutes run, the system may synchronize the two timelines temporally orotherwise to compare the paces at different points during the 20 minuterun. Synchronization may include aligning the two timelines to match upthe elapsed time. The system may further allow the users to view video,hear audio or view animated data as the timeline is traversed.

FIG. 17B illustrates another example video comparison between askateboarder user and a pro or competitor skateboarder. In theillustrated example, the comparison may display a metric using arepresentative symbol such as a skateboard. That is, the skateboard mayrepresent a number of ollies performed.

FIGS. 17C and 17D illustrate wireframe representations of interfacesthat may also be used to compare the performance of different users. Forexample, FIG. 17C illustrates a comparison of the performance of anathlete with the performance of the athlete's coach. The widgetapplications displayed in the toolbar may be displayed with a both theathlete's performance metric as well as the coach's performance metricin a split screen style. Similarly, video of the athlete and the coachmay be displayed as split screen in the primary visualization area.

FIG. 17D illustrates a comparison interface that may be displayed inlandscape format. Instead of displaying a widget toolbar, the interfacemay display X number of metrics. In this example, the number of metricsmay be 4 (video, jump height, impact and balance). The video may bedisplayed in split screen and two columns may be displayed adjacent thevideo, one representing the metrics of the athlete and the other columndisplaying the metrics of the coach. The interface configurations ofFIGS. 17C and 17D may be used to compare the athletic performance of anynumber of athletes (e.g., 2, 3, 5, 10, etc.) and the athletes may haveany type of relationship (e.g., friends, competitions,coach-player/trainee, etc.).

Video overlays may automatically be triggered based on detection ofvarious events such as releasing a pitch, executing a slam dunk and/orthrowing a football. For example, video of a professional pitcher'spitch may be overlaid on top of a video of a user's pitch to facilitatevisual comparison between the two. Additionally or alternatively,metrics for the overlaid video and the user's video may be displayed inconjunction with one another for comparison purposes. The two sets ofmetrics may be visually distinguished from one another. For example, afirst set of metrics may be displayed in one color while the other setof metrics may be displayed in a second color. Font size, fonts, fontstyle (e.g. bold, italic, underline), pattern, and the like may also beused for visual distinction. Videos that are displayed simultaneously(e.g., one overlaying the other) might also be scaled such that thesubject of the videos are displayed in sufficient large size. Forexample, if a user is far in the distance in one video, the video mayzoom in or enlarge the portion containing the user.

Additionally or alternatively, the user may customize appearance of thetimeline and/or metric overlays using thresholds. For example, upon atimeline reaching 75% completion, the timeline may change in appearance(e.g., color, pattern, shape, size, etc.). In another example, themetric information may change in color or other appearance if the metricgoes above or below a defined threshold (e.g., red colored letteringwhen pace goes below a 6 minute mile).

FIG. 13 illustrates an interface through which a user may crop or selecta portion (e.g., less than all) of the overall duration of the recordedactivity session. The selected portion may thus have a time period orduration representative of a sub-time period of the overall duration.The user may then separate out the selected portion for furtherprocessing, analysis and/or sharing with others. For example, thecropped portion or the entire recorded session along with the metricsassociated therewith may be uploaded to a social networking site, savedto an athletic performance monitoring service site or emailed tofriends. In one or more arrangements, if average metrics are providedfor the entirety of the activity session, the user's selection orcropping of a portion of the activity session may automatically causethe system to modify the average to reflect an average of just theselected or cropped portion. A save option allows the user the save theselected portion. Additionally or alternatively, the monitoring systemmay automatically save the cropped portion and the remaining portion asseparate files or data items. This may prevent a user from accidentallydeleting a portion of the activity session.

A user may further be allowed to select a particular metric value andthe system may automatically identify and display a portion of contentfile (e.g., a video or audio file) to a time of the athletic activitysession at which the particular metric value was recorded. Alternativelyor additionally, the user may select a portion (e.g., a range or aspecific time) of the content file and one or more metric valuesspecific to the select portion may be displayed.

The timeline may further include one or more indicators identifyingcertain events of the user's activity session. For example, timescorresponding to the user's highest or best values with respect to oneor more metrics may be marked within the timeline. Thus, if a userachieves his or her highest vertical jump at time 2:03, an indicator maybe placed at the 2:03 point within the timeline. Indicators may be colorcoded and/or labeled to provide some information about what is beingmarked. According to one aspect, if a user selects a portion of thetimeline (rather than the entire timeline), the indicators may bemodified to reflect and identify the best (e.g., highest or lowest)metric values measured for the user during the selected portion. Forexample, the system may automatically determine the best metric valuesfor the selected portion of the activity session. Alternatively, theindicators might not be modified so that the user is aware of his or hermetrics throughout the entire activity session. According to yet anotheralternative, further indicators may be added in addition to the alreadyexisting indicators. For example, the additional indicators may identifythe best times and/or other metrics for the selected portion of theactivity session. The user may further name the cropped portion uponsaving. The saved name may be displayed in the title bar. Indicators mayalso be used to identify other events that do not correspond to a bestmetric. For example, the indicators may identify substantial changes inpace (e.g., going from a 12 minute mile pace to a 7 minute mile pacewithin a predefined amount of time like 1 minute), slam dunks, tennisaces, dancing moves, tackles, football passes of greater than 20 yardsand the like. Indicators may also specify the lowest metrics or pointsin the activity session where a user may need improvement (e.g.,coaching or improvement tips).

Selection or cropping of a portion of the video may be performed by auser sliding his or her finger along the timeline (e.g., using a touchscreen interface) to desired start and end times for a desired portion.With the above described indicators, the user may more easily select aportion or multiple portions of the video of his or her highlights(e.g., best performance times).

Alternatively, the user may use a cursor or time entry fields to specifythe start and end times. In one or more arrangements, the user may askthe monitoring system to automatically select the portion. For example,the user may request that the monitoring system crop the video such thatonly a portion containing a time or period of time at which a user'sbest dunk (e.g., most air-time, highest rating by the user and/or otherusers) or highest value of a particular metric was achieved is retained.In a particular example, the system may automatically retain the eventalong with a predefined amount of time (e.g., 2 minutes, 1 minute, 30seconds, 15 seconds) around the event. Metric data might only beretained for the remaining portion of the activity session.Additionally, new averages may be calculated for the retained portionupon cropping the non-selected portions. Metric data for a non-retainedportion of the activity session, on the other hand, may be discarded orsaved to a different file (e.g., a file of the cropped portion).Alternatively or additionally, an average for the non-retained portionmay also be automatically generated for comparison purposes in one ormore examples.

The cropped video may also be automatically stored as a discrete contentfile that may be rendered (e.g., viewed, audibly played, visuallyplayed) independently of other content files or sets of athletic data.The discrete content file may also correspond to an audio file (e.g.,with or without video), or an application file that animates thesequence of recorded athletic data. A user may also select multipleportions of the recorded athletic activity session and each of theselected portions may be stored as a discrete content file. Thus, a usermay create multiple content files at one time by selecting multipleportions of the activity session.

FIG. 14 illustrates a video/metric sharing interface that may bedisplayed after a user has selected a save option (e.g., as shown inFIG. 13 ). The sharing interface may include one or more predefinedsharing options (e.g., for YOUTUBE, FACEBOOK and the like). Theinterface may further allow a user to customize or define their ownsharing sites (e.g., by entering a website or network address).

FIG. 15 illustrates a community website displaying a shared video thatincludes metrics associated with the user showcased in the shared video.On the community website, a variety of individuals may submit commentsabout the video and/or the user's athletic performance. In one example,coaches may submit comments to help the user improve or to furtherencourage the user. Comments may be associated with specific timessimilarly to metric information. Accordingly, comments may only betriggered or displayed upon reaching a particular time of the video. Theuser may specify permissions for who may comment on the video and/orvideo the video. For example, the user may indicate that only a certaingroup of people, specific individuals, or individuals satisfyinguser-defined criteria (e.g., age, location, affiliation, etc.) areallowed to submit comments or to rate the video/metrics. The user mayalso specify separate permissions for the video and the metrics. Thus,some users may be able to view both the video and the metrics whileother users might only be privy to the video or only the metrics.

Other videos may be suggested for viewing to individuals that areaccessing the present video. The other videos may be selected based ontype of athletic activity, a subject's age, gender or location, asubject's school or gym, similarity between the subject's performancethe performance of the subjects in the other videos and/or othercriteria.

FIGS. 18A and 18B illustrate a series of interfaces in which metrics maybe displayed in different regions of a performance visualization area.The user may then be able to adjust the size of the regions by moving anintersection between the different regions. The size of each region maythen automatically adjust according to the location of the intersection.For example, in FIG. 18A, the intersection is displayed in the middle ofthe visualization area, thereby providing each metric with equal displayspace. The user may then decide to move the intersection (e.g., byselecting and dragging the intersection using a touch screen) to anotherlocation as shown in FIG. 18B. Upon the user moving the intersection tothe location shown in FIG. 18B, the sizes of the various regions mayautomatically change to compensate for the new intersection. Forexample, the width of the impact and balance metric display regions maydecrease while the width of the vision/video and jump height metricdisplay regions may be increased. Additionally, the heights of thevision/video metric and impact metric regions may increase while theheight of the balance and jump height regions may decrease.

In one or more configurations, a user may be allowed to edit parametersor aspects of a recorded activity session before all recorded metricsare combined into a single activity session file or content item.Additionally, cropping may be performed before the session is compiledinto the single file or content item. FIG. 19 , for example, illustratesa process whereby a user may select or deselect metrics that are to becombined and stored into a file corresponding to an athletic activitysession. Accordingly, even if the various widget applications recorded 8different metrics, the user may select only 5 of the 8 metrics to becompiled into the activity session file. Alternatively or additionally,the user may define the placement of the various metrics and widgetapplications in a display area so that the system may assemble the videoand other data in a desired manner. Still further, a user may addcomments, audio (e.g., a soundtrack, narration, sound effects, etc.),interactive buttons (e.g., to send the athlete an email, download thevideo and the like) and the like.

Video, audio or other athletic performance content data may further beassociated with location information. For example, location may be usedas a metric as noted herein. Additionally, information about aparticular location may be displayed, stored and/or associated with theathletic performance or portion thereof in a granular manner. Forexample, location information for a user's location at each minimum timeunit (e.g., second, 1 minute, 5 minutes, 30 minutes, etc.) may beretrieved and stored. Thus, if a user is in a park at minute 1 and laterruns to a bridge at minute 8, information about the park may beassociated with the athletic performance at minute 1 and informationabout the bridge may be associated with the athletic performance atminute 8. The location description information may be descriptive of atype of location, history of the location, events occurring at thelocation and the like. The location description information may then bedisplayed while the user views a progression of the athletic performancedata (e.g., video or audio or animated data).

CONCLUSION

While the invention has been described with respect to specific examplesincluding presently preferred modes of carrying out the invention, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that there are numerous variationsand permutations of the above described systems and methods. Forexample, various aspects of the invention may be used in differentcombinations and various different subcombinations of aspects of theinvention may be used together in a single system or method withoutdeparting from the invention. In one example, software and applicationsdescribed herein may be embodied as computer readable instructionsstored in computer readable media. Also, various elements, components,and/or steps described above may be changed, changed in order, omitted,and/or additional elements, components, and/or steps may be addedwithout departing from this invention. Thus, the invention should beconstrued broadly as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, from one or moresensors, athletic data associated with performance of an athleticactivity by a first user during an activity session; synchronizing afirst timeline of the athletic data with a second timeline of activityinformation associated with performance of the athletic activity by asecond user; and outputting for display a representation of a comparisonof the first timeline and the second timeline.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the activity information corresponds to a completed athleticactivity.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: displaying avideo of the second user performing the athletic activity, wherein thevideo includes the activity information.
 4. The method of claim 3,wherein the video of the second user performing the athletic activitycomprises a video of a celebrity performing the athletic activity. 5.The method of claim 3, wherein the video of the second user performingthe athletic activity comprises a video of an instructor performing theathletic activity.
 6. The method of claim 3, wherein the video of thesecond user performing the athletic activity comprises a stored video ofthe first user completing the athletic activity at an earlier point intime.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining, basedon the athletic data, at least one performance metric associated withperformance of the athletic activity by the first user.
 8. The method ofclaim 7, wherein the at least one performance metric is outputted fordisplay in real-time.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein the at least oneperformance metric comprises one of a speed of the first user or adistance traveled by the first user.
 10. An athletic parametermeasurement device comprising: one or more sensors; and memory storingcomputer executable instructions that, when executed by a processor,cause the athletic parameter measurement device to: receive, from one ormore sensors, athletic data associated with performance of an athleticactivity by a first user during an activity session; synchronize a firsttimeline of the athletic data with a second timeline of activityinformation associated with performance of the athletic activity by asecond user; and output for display a representation of a comparison ofthe first timeline and the second timeline.
 11. The athletic parametermeasurement device of claim 10, wherein the activity informationcorresponds to a completed athletic activity.
 12. The athletic parametermeasurement device of claim 10, further comprising a display device,wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further causethe athletic parameter measurement device to: display, by the displaydevice, a video of the second user performing the athletic activity,wherein the video includes the activity information.
 13. The athleticparameter measurement device of claim 12, wherein the video of thesecond user performing the athletic activity comprises a video of acelebrity performing the athletic activity.
 14. The athletic parametermeasurement device of claim 12, wherein the video of the second userperforming the athletic activity comprises a video of an instructorperforming the athletic activity.
 15. The athletic parameter measurementdevice of claim 12, wherein the video of the second user performing theathletic activity comprises a stored video of the first user completingthe athletic activity at an earlier point in time.
 16. The athleticparameter measurement device of claim 10, wherein the instructions, whenexecuted by the processor, further cause the athletic parametermeasurement device to: determine, based on the athletic data, at leastone performance metric associated with performance of the athleticactivity by the first user.
 17. The athletic parameter measurementdevice of claim 16, wherein the at least one performance metric isoutputted for display in real-time.
 18. The athletic parametermeasurement device of claim 16, wherein the at least one performancemetric includes one of a speed of the first user or a distance traveledby the first user.
 19. One or more non-transitory computer readablemedia storing computer readable instructions that, when executed, causean apparatus to: receive, from one or more sensors, athletic dataassociated with performance of an athletic activity by a first userduring an activity session; synchronize a first timeline of the athleticdata with a second timeline of activity information associated withperformance of the athletic activity by a second user; and provide fordisplay a representation of a comparison of the first timeline and thesecond timeline.
 20. The one or more non-transitory computer readablemedia of claim 19, wherein the activity information corresponds to acompleted athletic activity.
 21. The one or more non-transitory computerreadable media of claim 19, further comprising instructions that, whenexecuted, cause the apparatus to: display a video of the second userperforming the athletic activity, wherein the video includes theactivity information.
 22. The one or more non-transitory computerreadable media of claim 21, wherein the video of the second userperforming the athletic activity comprises a video of a celebrityperforming the athletic activity.
 23. The one or more non-transitorycomputer readable media of claim 21, wherein the video of the seconduser performing the athletic activity comprises a video of an instructorperforming the athletic activity.
 24. The one or more non-transitorycomputer readable media of claim 21, wherein the video of the seconduser performing the athletic activity comprises a stored video of thefirst user completing the athletic activity at an earlier point in time.25. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media of claim 19,further comprising instructions that, when executed, cause the apparatusto determine, based on the athletic data, at least one performancemetric associated with performance of the athletic activity by the firstuser.
 26. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media ofclaim 25, wherein the at least one performance metric is outputted fordisplay in real-time.
 27. The one or more non-transitory computerreadable media of claim 25, wherein the at least one performance metriccomprises one of a speed of the first user or a distance traveled by thefirst user.